Racing in Bend, OR at Cascade Cycling Classic

Day two, stage 1 leader's podium with Jade Wilcoxson, Kristen Armstrong, and me, Lex Albrecht

I am in Bend, Oregon at the Cascade Cycling Classic.  It is a six day stage race, including a prologue, three road stages, a criterium and an individual time trial.

I have one day left to race.  Things are looking good.  At the moment we have all of the leader's jerseys except one: the yellow one.  The yellow one is for the overeall leader.  And we want it.  My teammate Carmen Small is 4 seconds away from Alison Powers, the racer who is in the lead.  We want that yellow for OPTUM. 

I'll keep it short and sweet.  Jade Wilcoxson has the green sprinter's jersey (Carmen is the only one that this jersey could be transfered to in tomorrow's race, it stays in the team regardless), I have the polka-dot climber's jersey (that one is secured), and I have the white best young rider (under 26 years old) jersey by almost 4 minutes.

Here is a great report on yesterday's race from Cyclingnews.com : http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/cascade-cycling-classic-2012/stage-3/results



The rest of the details...(and they are good!) are yet to come, I have to rest up for tomorrow.  We have a yellow jersey to battle for.  YEAH OPTUM.

How the 2012 Exergy Tour Ended

The final stage of the Exergy Tour in Boise, ID was only 75km long but the hills were relentless!  For the first time during the Tour, the sun was out full force, perfect for racing.  There were oodles of spectators all over the course.  I even spotted our new friend Grace Alexander, an up and coming cyclist who Optum rode with two days before the beginning of the Exergy Tour.  There were plenty of costumes too.  I was fortunate enough to get a picture with the scantily clad devil painted in red bodypaint at the end of the day.

veloimages (steephill.tv)

 A freak accident took out two of my teammates, Janel Holcomb and Courteney Lowe only 50m after the start line.  Exergy Team set a very high tempo from the start, and although the game plan wasn't necessarily to launch any, we had to work hard to cover attacks from the gun. 

Carmen Small ended up in fourth place for the day, just barely missing the podium.  Häusler from GreenEdge took the stage win, and Neben from Specialized-LuluLemon won the overall GC.

I was pooched after the race, and crashed down on my hotel bed, fully kitted up.  I even had my Mavic shoes and Lazer helmet on still.  My nap lasted at least 45 minutes. 

Exergy Tour put on a rodeo for all of the riders to celebrate the end of the tour.  Adrian lent me his rubber boots (I pretended they were cowgirl boots, and still wonder to this day if I fooled any of the real cowboys with them).  I rode a horse, a mechanical bull, ate the most tender steak of my life, and watched my first ever real-live-rodeo.  Exergy gave every rider a genuine cowgirl belt buckle.  Special edition.

Thank you Optum, thank you Optum staff, thank you Exergy, thank you to all of the sponsors that support myself, Optum, and women's cycling.  The Exergy Tour was awesome.

Exergy Tour Stage 1

I woke up early to get a coffee and breakfast.  I had been looking forward to it all night.  It was raining outside.  I pretended it wasn't, which worked, until I actually had to venture out into it to get to the race.

I started the race with several layers on, including a rain jacket.  I had Shammy Butt'r Hot Embro, or hot warming balm in other words, on my feet.  For anybody who uses warming balm, you know that the ''hot'' stuff is SERIOUS business.  I used the mild version on my legs (even on the glutes, on Adrian's advice, he is our wise mechanic) and slathered a layer of oil on top before putting my Champion Systems leg warmers on.  It's not ''Euro'' to race with leg warmers apparently, but that doesn't change anything for me, I'm North American.  I didn't regret wearing them.

Several km after the start a huge crowd of school children cheered all of the riders on.  There were tons of fans on the hill of the main climb in today's stage.  Others were scattered throughout the course with their cowbells in hand.  We might not acknowledge them when we race by, but we hear the cheers, and we know they're there, and we LOVE the support.

Briefly, how it played out:
There were a few breaks in the race, and Optum was present in all of them.  Leah went in the first break, which stayed away from the main field for quite some time.  Then Jade, Carmen and Janel caught up to her group.  This was good for Optum.  Near the end of the race, with just over 10km to go, the main field was all back together in one pack.  Carmen, Jade and Janel worked the front for a bit.  There were several attacks that had to be covered, so I went with them, but none stayed away.  When there was a slight lull in the peloton's pace, I took a flyer, and was reeled back by Specialized-Lulu Lemon after a couple of kilometers, and Jade counter-attacked right away.  She too got brought back, and Carmen, Joëlle and Leah worked hard up at the front to make the sprint finish. 

There was a huge crash with under 1km to go.  No Optum Orange spilled on the road.  Good.  Thanks to some excellent teamwork, Leah still managed to get a 4th place finish.   Jade also scored enough points in the QOM sprints (Queen of the Mountain) to stand in second place for the competition.

Theresa Cliff-Ryan won the stage.

You can watch the Exergy Tour live, and check out all of the race stats on Tour Tracker here: http://exergytour.thetourtracker.com/

A screenshot of my flyer at the Exergy Tour on Tour Tracker, courtesy of Michael Foley

 
Unfortuantely in the crash, World Champion Georgia Bronzini went down.  We hope she is okay.  Especially after Kristen Armstrong who broke her collarbone yesterday at Exergy, and cycling superstar Marianne Vos breaking her shoulder in Europe as well.  Enough bad luck, it's got to be over now, right?  Right.

Exergy Prologue

 Foolproof.  No thinking, just pedaling.  With a clear schedule taped to the Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies team van, we didn't have to question our schedule, warm-up plan, or remember when our start times were for the Exergy Tour prologue.  I like that.

 The prologue was short, and our warm-up on the Kinetic Road Machine trainers was imperative.  As we pedaled, some fans stopped by to take pictures or get their rider cards autographed.  We had a selection out for them on the hood of the Acura TSX sportwagon.  

There was a plethora of fans out to cheer on the international group of racers as they raced around the 3.1km prologue course.  I'm a big fan of cheering, and I love it when the crowds come out for us.

To get a good placing in this event, top notch equipment is essential.  Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefits strategies rode Orbea time trial bikes and HED disc wheels, and either HED deep-dish front wheels or HED tri-spokes.  The other thing that was obligatory was taking risks on the tight turns.  One was a tight over-ninety -degrees turn out of a speedy little descent, and another was a 180 U-turn shortly after.  A couple of riders who were gutsy enough to take them at big speeds and short lines went down.  Everyone from Optum is alright. 

Unfortunately, the hometown star (Boise ID) and Olympic champion Kristen Armstrong crashed and broke her collarbone.  We're not on the same team, but it is never, ever cool when any rider goes down for any reason, and I wish her a full and speedy recovery. 

Optum has 4 riders in the top 20 (of a 100+ rider field) after the prologue. 

Stage one is a 123.5km road race that starts and finishes in Nampa ID.  Follow us live on Tour Tracker.

Stage 2: Joe Martin Stage Race 2012

Stage two of the 35th annual Joe Martin Stage Race was tough, because we wanted it to be tough.

After lots of attacks, counter attacks, getting away from the peloton and being dragged back by the other teams, (even Anna Barensfeld who was sick as a dog blasted off the front and made the pack hurt several times, what a champ!) Carmen Small, Courteney Lowe, and Jade Wilcoxson got away with one rider from team Rouse.  I was in the chase group with Emma Grant who was wearing the white jersey, as the leader of the Best Young Rider Classification.

The break stayed away and we let FCS-Rouse, the Colombian National Team and Tibco do the chasing.  Emma rode strong through the last section of the course, winning the bunch sprint with me on her wheel (5th and 6th place).  Up ahead, Carmen had won the race, Jade got 3rd, and Courteney came in 4th.  Annie and Anna who sacrificed everything for the team raced in afterwards.  Textbook teamwork. 

Optum Pro Cycling now has all three leader's jerseys.  Carmen is in the Pink Leader's Jersey and has the Green Sprinter's Jersey as well, and the White Best Young Rider's Jersey was passed over from Emma to Courteney (who won it in the 2011 edition as well!)

It wasn't an easy day, and that's what made it so fun. 

Joe Martin Stage Race Prologue 2012.

Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies is in first place for team classification after the stage one prologue at the Joe Martin Stage Race.  How did we do it?  Super aero and light gear from Orbea and HED, perfect warm-up on Kinetic Trainers, fuel from Clif, and good ol' piston power.

Carmen Small is our top rider in 4th place follwed closely by Jade Wilcoxson in 5th. Anna Barensfeld is in 7th, and I just missed top 10, coming in in 11th.  There are two road races, and a criterium to come.  This is going to be fun.

The full results:

1	Amanda Miller (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:09:59.47
2	Kathryn Donovan (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:00:01.12
3	Maria Luisa (Colombian National Team)	0:00:02.41
4	Carmen Small (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:03.49
5	Jade Wilcoxson (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:08.35
6	Anna Sanders (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:00:16.88
7	Anna Barensfeld (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:20.54
8	Rachel Warner (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:00:21.95
9	Lauren Hall (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:00:22.74
10	Lauren Stephens (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:00:28.52
11	Lex Albrecht (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:36.01
12	Jennifer Wheeler (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:00:39.67
13	Emma Grant (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:44.02
14	Katherine Williams (Team Belladium)	0:00:48.45
15	Amity Elliot (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:00:59.14
16	Cara Gillis (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:00:59.82
17	Courteney Lowe (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:01:01.87
18	Joy McCulloch (Helen's Racing)	0:01:14.53
19	Scotti Wilborne (Leborne)	0:01:16.21
20	Jennifer Purcell (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:01:17.97
21	Annie Ewart (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:01:19.04
22	Jerika Hutchinson (Fremont Bank Cycling Team)	0:01:21.28
23	Meredith Miller (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:01:26.30
24	Jessica Prinner (Hotter'N Hell Hundred)	0:01:34.46
25	Samantha Schneider (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:01:37.31
26	Amy McGuire (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:01:44.16
27	Kendall Ryan (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:01:48.45
28	Kim Jennings (Bicycles Outback p/b Jubilee Mitsubishi)	0:01:50.75
29	Lauren De Crescenzo (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:01:55.43
30	Jennifer Perricone (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:02:06.41
31	Mary Maroon (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:02:13.64
32	Jennifer Mix (787 Racing)	0:02:27.24
33	Krystal McNutt (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:02:32.63
34	Lindsey Durst (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:02:40.32
35	Jacqueline Denny (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:02:48.41
36	Michelle Montoya (Bicycles Outback p/b Jubilee Mitsubishi)	0:04:32.15

Sunny King Criterium 2012

Optum's set-up before the Sunny King Criterium

 Optum Pro Cycling raced the NCC Sunny King Criterium in downtown Anniston Alabama, with live coverage from every corner of the course as well as the start-finish line.  Every time I bust it around a corner on my HED wheels, I feel like I've got confidence and control on my side thanks to the way my Champion Tires grip the road surface.  They're the best tires I've ridden in my life, and they make crits like Sunny King that much more fun to race.

After several attacks and counter attacks there was one break that ultimately stayed away.  Jade, Emma and Annie (half of the team) rode the break while Courteney, Anna and I did what we could to manage the peloton.  We scored one prime in the pack and Annie brought one home from the break.

Although the break came dangerously close to being reeled in, the girls in the peloton just couldn't seem to get the job done, which is what we wanted.

Philip Darden 2012

Jade just barely missed the victory but landed on the second step of the podium thanks to some excellent Optum teamwork.  Next race: Foothills Road Race

Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium

Two days after my 25th birthday I got hit with the flu.  It's been going around like wildfire in my part of the country.  I upped my nap quota to 3 or 4 a day, kept my legs spinning only easy, and hoped and wished to get over it as fast as possible. I only have a tenacious chest cold left to kick now, and I'm convinced it's on it's way out.  Flying from Québec, QC to Charlotte, NC I was understandably iritable.  So when a security agent asked me  how old I was, I wasn't going to tell him for nothing.  I asked why he wanted to know.  Completely serious he responded that because if I was under 12 years old, I didn't have to take my shoes off and put them on the belt.

I raced the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium in Charlotte, NC with 5 teammates.  There are huge cash prizes, great primes, a big, energetic crowd of supporters, and a pretty fun race course with 8 "on-the-tight-side" corners.

I was hacking up phlegm over myself for the race, determined to participate.  And it was definitely good for the morale.  Jade busted off the front solo, she scored some intermediate sprint primes too, Anna chased down an early break with everything she had, Annie and Emma stayed up near the front on guard, Courtney put in some crazy hard efforts.  Jade finished 4th overall.

I like this crit a lot and I want to come back next year in full health.

After the race we watched the United Heathcare men's team control the men's 80km criterium, which was an impressive show.  The Optum Pro Cycling boys were not here because they're racing the Battenkill UCI race.

We're off to Asheville NC, where we'll ride the Blue Ridge Parkway (my favorite road south of the Parc de la Mauricie) for a week or so, before heading to the Sunnyking crit in Alabama.